Family Names and Spellings

1857 Brothers Duncan McLaren / McClaren and Donald McLaran purchase allotments in the town of Dalby - a possible example of a transcription error.

The Scotland's Peoplewebsiteexplains how Scottish surnames evolved in the19th Century.

Effects of Emigration and Migration Many emigrants from Scotland changed their names on arrival in their new country. Shortening or dropping the prefix "Mc" or "Mac", or anglicising a gaelic surname, or indeed changing the surname altogether for a similar sounding English one, which would be easier to pronounce and would conceal one’s origins, were quite common occurrences.

The Origins of the name McLeoran in Southend

Publications by respected historian Rev. William Matheson on "The MacLerans of Southend" suggest that many centuries ago members of Clan MacLean separated from their clan who lived on the Isle of Mull and settled in Argyll near Southend, changing their name to MacLeran by the addition of the letter "r".

A Campbeltown family historian advises that in Southend the name "MacLeran" was spelt in many ways:

With Anglicisation, the final form of the surname has become "McLaren".

Of all the original family settlers in Australia, only Alexander McLaren always spelt his surname as "MacLeran". Sometimes, Malcolm signed his name "McLeran" - see below.

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McLeoranMcLeoran, McLaren, MacLeran, McLeran, McClaren, McLarrin and McLaran are some of the spellings employed by the family members and recording clerks between 1771 and 1884.

In Scotland and on arrival in New South Wales, the family name was recorded as "McLeoran". The passenger list records that Malcolm could both read and write but Jane, Catherine, Donald, Duncan and Margaret could only read.

Post-1853 there appears to have been a conscious effort to Anglicise the spelling to "McLaren". Unfortunately, a uniform spelling was not achieved.

Oral family history relates that Donald and Duncan used different surname spellings to avoid Post Office confusion - see newspaper "unclaimed letters" on right. This may very well be the truth, or it may be a long-standing joke to hide an error of spelling or transcription. Evidence of this spelling divergence may be found in 1857 - see property titles at top of page. In Queensland in the 1850's, I suspect , how one spelt one's name was of little importance.

McLaranThroughout the website, “McLaran” is used for both Malcolm, the patriarch and his eldest son, Donald, as in legal documents their surname was spelt with “an”. (See right.) Despite this, in newspaper entries, birth, death and marriage certificates and in various inquests, the surname is usually spelt ending with “en”. No changes have been made to such records. Today's descendants of Donald McLaran are rightly proud of their "an" ending, as it instantly identifies their lineage, whilst at the same time disguising the extent of the larger family.

McLaren“McLaren” is used for Malcolm’s other children, Catherine, Duncan, Margaret and Alexander, as that spelling was used in all documents pertaining to them. They never used the spelling “McLaran”. There are no descendants of these family members today bearing the surname "McLaren" ..... unless this website manages to bring forth descendants of Margaret's lost son, Daniel James McLaren, born at Retro Station, Clermont, in 1874.

Contary to the above, Alexander signed his name as “MacLeran” and "McLeran" on various legal documents, but his name was always recorded on the documents as "Alexander McLaren". His spelling harks back to Southend and may give clues to the pronunciation of the day.

The explanations above should dispel any doubts that Catherine McLaren, Donald McLaran and Margaret McLaren were siblings.

McQuilkanMalcolm McLaran’s first wife, mother of Catherine, Donald, Duncan and Margaret, was sometimes referred to as “Margaret McQuilkan”.

This surname is pronounced “McCulkin” and consequently “McCulkin” and “McCulkan” were spellings used in various certificates.

Anglicisation of this surname may be “Wilson” or "Wilkinson". Malcolm’s death certificate names his first wife as “Margaret Wilson”. Donald McLaran’s 3rd daughter was named Margaret Isabella Wilson McLaran.

Malcolm / Malcom "Malcolm" derives from an oldScottish name, "Máel Coluim" which means "Disciple of Saint Columba". In Malcolm's 1826 marriage record and in other Scottish records of the time, his christian name was spelt "Malcom".

In this website, I have used "Malcolm". The spelling aligns with that of at least 5 of Malcolm's descendants - at last count - and my interpretation of his signature (see right).

1863 Unclaimed Letters - is it Donald or Duncan? Oral history may well be correct.

This listing may or may not confirm the oral family history story explaining the "an" and "en" spellings. We will never know if the letter was intended for Donald or Duncan. Donald was absent from Dalby around this time, so it is likely the mail was for him.

1879 Malcolm McLaran's signature ... he spelt his surname "McLeran" - very similar to Alexander's spelling.

DockrillDockerill parish near Moonie was named after William Dockrill.

​I will match the spelling in all of William Dockrill's property documentation (see top of page) and family headstone and use “Dockrill”.

​The spelling "Dockerill" seems only to appear on Queensland Government maps and in some newspaper articles.

1916 Dockrill family headstone, Southport General Cemetery

RiderBorn out of wedlock, Jane Rider assumed her mother's maiden name but is sometimes known by her father’s name (Johnston). “Ryder” is the common spelling in Queensland for descendants of Jane’s relations.

“Rider” is generally used in English documents and in Jane’s death certificate so that spelling has been adopted.